Dot by dot
by Chyrstis
Summary: V and Johnny have a debate to settle. Troy's not sure how to handle his role in it, or their hands-on means of tackling it. -Post-SRIV-


A bit of a belated Valentine's Day fic that hit me late, but I couldn't stop until it was down. Purely silly fluff.

* * *

It wasn't early. That was the first thought that hit Troy as he eased awake. He felt comfortable, almost to the point that he considered drifting off again, and that feeling only came with the sense that he'd slept longer than his body was used to.

V and Johnny's voices came from Troy's left, not too loud, but nowhere near a whisper, and he let that sound pull him back before he nodded off. He blinked lazily as his eyes searched for the clock, and it didn't take long for him to come to the conclusion that someone had killed his alarm.

And for once his internal clock had complied. Even now,with the room still semi-dark as he took in the red numbers blinking at him, he found it hard to move, and wet his lips as more of their conversation floated over towards him.

"Nope." V's tone was firm, and Troy's eyebrows drewtogether. "Still not buying it."

"Feel that?"

"Nope. Not even close," V stated.

Troy rubbed his eyes, and turned over to look at them. Neither of them had bothered to pull any clothes on yet, making Troy wonder if they'd just woken up themselves. Her back faced Johnny, partially blocking him from Troy's view, but he didn't miss the careful way Gat explored her. Or the way she kept threading her fingers through her hair as she chewed on her lip.

That's when Johnny spoke up again. "Cause that's a fucking boat if I've ever seen one."

She sent a glare over her shoulder, and Troy blinked in confusion until Gat's statement finally clicked.

Her scrunched face changed to one of surprise when Troy tried to stifle a chuckle, but didn't stay that way for long. "Oh, not you too," she groused.

"Hey, I'm just waking up. Or thinking about it. Though, last time I checked, Gat did make a good argument." And was pretty damn thorough, Troy mused, recalling the way Gat moved his hands – and later his mouth - over the freckles on her side. "They line up too well to say otherwise, V."

"Two to one." She made a sound of frustration, and Johnny rolled onto his back, looking every bit like he'd won a small victory. "You want to deny it? Gotta find someone else to disagree."

"No, because that little poll's going to call for me to whip off my shirt to prove anything, and I'm going to have to pass. You two want to play connect the dots with my freckles in our off-time? Fine. Everyone else? Nope."

"Talk about a motherfucking shame," Johnny said, trading a look with Troy. His sunglasses weren't anywhere in sight, so Troy caught every trace of his amusement. "It'd only take a minute to prove it. Might need a marker, though."

"And that's why she's going to keep on telling you no, man," Troy said with a yawn. He closed his eyes, and buried his cheek into his pillow. "Going to have to do better than that."

"Much, much better," he heard V say, and Troy felt the bed move as her voice came closer.

Warm skin came to rest against his side, and Troy cracked open an eyelid to peek at her. Her loose, auburn hair brushed against his back as she leaned over him, leaving trails that made him shiver. She had to have noticed, but she didn't say. Only tugged the sheet down as she traced a finger down his spine, and when she reached a spot above his tailbone, he couldn't help the small sound he made. "V?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me you're not on some scavenger hunt kick right now."

"I'm not." Her hair continued to tickle his skin, and he saw her mouth curve into a wide grin. "Well, I wasn't. But now that you mention it, I've been wanting to prove a point for a bit now."

Troy moved his attention to Johnny, and the intent way he was watching her, and raised his eyebrows. "You don't say?"

"Yep. Gat goes on about my damn boat, but you've got some fun shapes on you." Her nails lightly scratched him, and Troy relaxed into it. "Like, say…this one."

Her finger traveled in a loop, and he sighed. "Mmm. That one?"

"Yeah. Pretty damn distinct if you ask me. One very cheerful smiley-face on one equally cheerful chief." She traced over the freckles again, and Gat chuckled softly. "Really, right here."

"Okay, I'll give you that one," Johnny said, and the bed shifted as he moved closer.

"And here's another. Tiny rocket ship." She rested more weight on Troy as her hand traced the shape out, and Johnny made what Troy guessed was a sound of approval. His lips curved up, and V continued to move her finger over his skin. "Don't know about this one, though."

"What one?"

"Looks kinda like a…fish?"

"That ain't no fish."

"Look, there's the fin" – her finger traced what Troy guessed was the tail on his left shoulder blade – "and here's the rest. One nice, round fish."

She removed her finger, and he heard Johnny say, "That's not what I'm seeing. Starting there? Fine, but you start that shit over here, and you'll see it's no fucking fish." Troy almost started when he was touched again, only firmer. "There."

Lying still, Troy felt the air in his lungs start to burn as Gat's fingertip kept on going. The line ended close to where V's had, and Johnny tapped the ending point twice for good measure.

V scoffed. "Did you just try to draw a shitty dinosaur?"

"Head and tail, even the legs." He tapped on Troy's back again, but didn't remove his hand.

"Bullshit." Another touch close to where Gat's hand was resting made Troy swallow hard, and V moved in soft arcs as she tried to retrace Johnny's movements. "So much bullshit. Turtle, maybe. That? Not at all. See? Here's the shell, and then the legs…"

Another line was drawn, done in a sure stroke. "Here's the fucking legs. Don't see why you keep on skipping that."

"Because it's ridiculous, that's why! That's barely a Stegosaurus, though I guess you could say these pointy bits could be here" - her finger joined Johnny's tracing right above his position – "and run all the way to there."

The new point was closer to the middle of his back, and he tried not to shift under the warm weight of their hands. But one traveled lower, drifting towards his lower back, and the pressure told him exactly who it was, making Troy clear his throat before either of them could speak up. "Hey, you two done proving each other wrong yet?"

Both hands stilled, but didn't leave his skin. "I think we've got at least two shapes left to argue, Chief," V said.

"Well, much as I'm having fun listening to you debate it, can you two call it? Or spend that energy on something…I don't know, something more productive?"

"Like?"

Troy angled his head to look at her. "Like something that isn't me, maybe?"

Johnny withdrew, returning to his side of the bed, while V's lips curved into a pout. But she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Troy's back. "Okay. We'll give you some peace."

Another kiss traveled further up, warm as her lips lingered, and Troy lifted his head. She froze, and he eased the wry look he aimed at her. "Peace, huh? When you're doing that?"

"I-" It took a minute, but her surprised expression became playful, and she leaned forward to try and reach his cheek. "Not really fair, is it?"

He moved his head so he could catch her mouth. "Not one damn bit."


End file.
